During one of my trawls through the used booksellers was the joy of discovering Sharon Kay Penman's historical fiction novels of early medieval England and Wales. For lovers of medieval history, these are a must.
She brings to her writings an elegance of style, rarely matched, and an ability to absorb the reader into the world she presents.
In the medieval history she presents, the ideas and concepts she proposes, are so acutely drawn that any preconceptions we might have had about some of the characters and events are discarded as we become more attuned to what is presented... Let our readers find a new perspective.
Another key element in Sharon Kay Penman's books is her ability not to just humanize people long gone, but to make them come alive by interweaving beautifully depicted stories of the heart - men and women who loved - in the midst of political expediency, betrayal, dynastic imperative and implacable enmity - but never at the expense of historical veracity...realistic fiction at its best.
Such qualities make her novels some of the best historical fiction books available today... very satisfying for a bookworm like me.
Love between: Richard and Anne Neville 111; Japanese Joanna Llewellyn; Henry 11 and Eleanor of Aquitaine; and others said, a clear increase in sensitivity and the nuances of the larger drama world, they lived.
Penman's ability as a master storyteller weaves such spells on us, the readers, it makes it hard to return to the 21st century from a 13th century so compelling illustrated and dramatically recreated. Anyone who enjoys new fiction book will find that adding her work to your must read list won't be wasted. Engrossing is perhaps the best word to use about her books. The Sunne in Splendour (1982), this historical novel vividly narrates the story of Richard 111 - the last Plantagenet King of England - and the author's balanced and objective view makes this a delightful read - about a King whom history has often vilified.
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